President Donald Trump’s blanket 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports have gone into effect.
The European Union responded on March 12 to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs by targeting 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of American goods with countermeasures set to take effect next month.
The EU said the tariffs will apply to industrial-grade steel and aluminum, as well as semi-finished and finished steel and aluminum products, including derivative commercial goods ranging from machinery parts to knitting needles.
“We regret the unjustified US 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports,” the EU Commission said in a post on the social media platform X. “We are launching swift, proportionate countermeasures worth up to €26 billion, matching the economic impact of the US tariffs.”
Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports went into effect shortly after midnight on March 12.
The president announced last month that he was introducing new standards requiring steel to be “melted and poured” and aluminum to be “smelted and cast” in North America to prevent countries like China from circumventing trade restrictions.
Trump said the purpose is to stop other nations from taking advantage of the United States, bolster domestic production, and bring jobs back to the U.S. economy.
“This is a big deal, the beginning of making America rich again,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Feb. 10. “Our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands.”
Negotiations
In a March 12 post on X, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: “We deeply regret the US tariffs imposed on Europe.”
She said that tariffs are taxes and “are bad for business, and even worse for consumers.”
“Today Europe takes strong but proportionate countermeasures,” she added. “We remain ready to engage in dialogue.”
The European Commission said it will end its current suspension of tariffs on U.S. products on April 1 and that its tariffs will be fully in place by April 13.
The British government said it was disappointed, but stopped short of saying it would impose retaliatory trade tariffs in response to the U.S. measures.
By Owen Evans
